The Dead, Living, and Living Dead
by EndlessStars
Summary: AU! Merlin's a ghost who died during the Great Purge, stuck haunting the room that he died in. Arthur's the sickly prince of Camelot who desperately wants his father's approval. When these two somehow end up as roommates, they find themselves forced into an unwanted destiny as they face a rising magical threat bent on killing the illusive warlock "Emrys". Ghost!Merlin Sick!Arthur
**A/N: Hello, reader! Welcome to my first Merlin fanfic and ironically enough, my last story that I'm going to start before I focus on my current fics instead. If you're reading any of my other fics (which I haven't updated for nearly six months... oops) worry not, they're not abandoned. Every story I ever start will be finished, it may just take awhile. Hopefully, this new fic will help me overcome writer's block though! Any who, this story is (obviously) an AU in which Merlin is a ghost and Arthur is a physically weak prince with lots of health issues. For the first few chapters, I'm going to focus on both of them growing up until I get to when the first episode takes place. From then on, I will follow the canon for a few episodes before I start changing the story itself. Also, this story will have no pairings other than the canon ones and updates will be sparse at best. I have four fics that I'm currently working on along with an original novel that I want to actually finish one day. This, combined with all my schoolwork will probably make updates pretty slow. However, I'll try to update at least once a month and even weekly if I can. Just don't be too surprised or worried if I suddenly disappear. I probably won't leave for more than a few months... With that said, I'm not a professional writer so I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism to help me produce better content for you! Any type of feedback is welcome. Now, with no further ado, let the story begin!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin :(**

Chapter 1: Ghost

Arthur Pendragon, born as the sole heir to his father's throne and a sickly boy, has always been confined within the castle. His only companions are servants, knights, his annoying sister Morgana, and other residents and visitors of the castle. Life for him was dull series of lessons, meetings, and the other limited activities of an average prince.

Basically, he was completely, and utterly bored with life.

That is, until he turned nine and moved into a his new room after his old one had become too small for his liking.

The moment he entered spacious area facing the town below, he had known that something was different about it. There was an unnatural chill in the air and every once in awhile, he'd see something move ever so slightly, although he could never find the source of said movements. What's more, he was the only one who felt and saw such things. Still, he tried desperately to tell others about it.

When he had went crying to his nursemaid for the fifth time during his first day in that room however, the lady had threatened to tell his father and Arthur had immediately shut up. He couldn't have his father be interrupted by such trivial matters! He would be furious!

So, he kept his mouth shut, even as he laid there that first night. The moonlight was spilling through the window and onto his bed like liquid evil, illuminating the room in a haunting dim light. Under his blankets, his hands were clenched as he desperately tried to control his trembling. He was a prince, the future King of Camelot! He couldn't be so easily cowed.

Eventually, he did fall into a fitful slumber with nightmares raging behind closed eyelids.

Then, his troubles truly began when he woke up the next day, before the sun had even risen. It wasn't a servant that had woken him though. It was the strange blue light above him that was so blindingly bright, that it woke him up.

At first, Arthur groaned and covered his face with his pillow as he attempted to go back to sleep. Then, a shiver went up his spine as something _radiating_ coldness floated just inches above him. With a growl, the prince threw his pillow off and sat up quickly, glaring at what he expected to be some pesky messenger of sorts. Instead, his heart nearly leaped out of his throat as a blob of glowing blue light quickly shot up towards the ceiling with a high pitched squeak.

His eyes doubled in size as his mouth dropped, scraping floor as he gaped at the thing above him. The young prince watched in horrified fascination as the blue ball stumbled around the ceiling and slowly unrolled it self to reveal four limbs and a human like figure. Then, the blinding light dimmed and Arthur saw that it _was_ a human. A boy to be exact.

But how could that be possible? Boys don't float and reach for the ceiling. Boys don't radiate blue light. And most importantly, they _certainly_ aren't semitransparent.

And yet there he was. A glowing kid, watching him with big blue eyes from where he hovered. With messy black hair and a street dweller's outfit, he appeared to be about Arthur's age.

A moment of shocked silence filled the room as the two occupants slowly seemed to process each other' s existence.

Then, the young prince pointed a trembling hand at the floating boy above him.

"Y-you!" He managed to choke out, his expression of bravado looking more like one of fear. "Who are you? How did you get in here? Did a sorcerer send you here to hunt me down? 'Cause I'm telling you now, my father will have your head if you dare lay a finger on me!"

The other boy's eyes widened at those words.

"N-no!" The glowing child stammered, floating down towards Arthur, who nearly threw himself under his covers before realizing that such an act would be considered cowardly. "I'm not here to hurt you! But what are _you_ doing here? This room is supposed to be empty!"

"What do you mean 'what are you doing here'? This is _my_ room! I just moved in yesterday!" Arthur snapped shakily.

"You mean you're here _permanently?_ " The translucent boy croaked, a look of horror in his eyes.

"Yes, unlike you! _Guards!_ " Arthur shrieked, leaping onto his feet upon his bed. "There's an intruder! A magical beast! Get in here you stupid-"

"Be quiet, will you!" The floating boy hissed frantically, his eyes flashing with gold as Arthur's own blanket rose up and crashed onto him, trapping him under it. "I was here first, so you can't kick me out! Besides, it's not like I'm planning to do anything to you..."

"I don't care!" The young prince spat, struggling against his surprisingly strong, traitorous blanket. "Magic is evil and so are you! Get out of my room, monster!"

"Now where in Albion did you get such an absurd idea?" The boy said sadly. "I'm not evil. Why does everybody say that? They don't even know my name before they start tossing that ugly word around! And for your information, I _can't_ leave, so shut up."

" _You_ shut up! If you aren't out that door in five seconds, I'm gonna _make_ you leave!" Arthur snapped.

"No, I meant that literally!" The boy said defensively. "Unlike you, who could move around, I'm stuck here! I _can't_ leave. Ever. So it's _you_ who has to get out."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." The young prince ranted, finally managing to strangle aside his blanket, which had suddenly become limp. "Do you really expect me to believe such a stupid lie?"

"I'm not lying. What's so strange about the idea that I'm trapped here? You see me floating right now, right? I don't think _that's_ what you living folk consider to be normal or believable either!"

"Exactly! I want an explanation-" Arthur began, when he finally fully processed his words. "Wait... What did you just call me?" The boy, who had been floating around the room, as if pacing, stopped like a thief caught stealing.

"Nothing." He said way too quickly, taking an interest in the floor.

"You just called me a 'living folk'." The prince spoke slowly as he pieced together the information and grew closer and closer to a realization

"Now, let's not jump to conclusions..." The floating boy said nervously, appearing as tense as a translucent kid can be.

"GHOST!" Arthur screamed, falling out of his bed as he tried to stumble away. "HELP! GUARDS! FATHER!" Suddenly, a sword that hung on his wall came to life. A deadly _swish_ could be heard as the blade raced towards him, only to miss him by a couple centimeters before embedding itself into the door. The prince scrambled back, his already sickly pale face whiter than ever before.

"Calm down..." A small voice said shakily. "I'm not going to hurt you, even if I can. Just let me explain..."

"What's there _to_ explain, _Ghost?_ " Arthur whispered angrily.

 _"My name's Merlin."_ The boy mumbled, a bit irritated. The prince glared at him and looked about ready to go into another rant, before Merlin continued on hurriedly. "And I would really appreciate it if you would at least give me the benefit of doubt. I don't intend to hurt you, but if you plan on trying to expose me, I will have no choice but to do what I must to survive."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "First of all, you're already dead, so you can't exactly survive. And secondly, are you threatening me, _Ghost?_ " Unexpectedly, a pair of blazing blue eyes met his as Merlin's face hardened with determination.

"Yes." He said, his voice quiet and cold. The prince wisely chose to stay silent, although his eyes were now wide and fearful. Finally, after a few tense moments, the sword stuck to the door trembled before it freed itself and returned to where it came from. Arthur then watched, his eyes cautiously following him as Merlin floated down, his ghostly feet touching the ground for the first time the prince has ever seen. For a moment, if the prince looked at the boy at a certain way, he could've passed for normal. Then, a dead pale hand radiating dim white-blue light reached out for him like an olive branch. The cold expression had left Merlin's face. "Can we please at least have truce? I'd like for you to hear me out before you get yourself declared insane or a traitor."

Arthur glanced at the outstretched hand uncertainly. _He's magic..._ The young prince reminded himself. _He's evil. He's trying to kill me._ And yet Arthur still reached out. With a sinking feeling in his stomach and an almost certainty that he was going to regret it, he shook hands with the ghost.

The smaller hand was as cold as death and he could barely feel it under his own fingers.

That's when the facts hit him. Merlin was ghost. He was _dead._ In fact, he had probably died a long time ago.

* * *

"For the sake of saving time and because I don't exactly trust you at the moment, I'll make this short." Merlin said, pacing around the room with an anxious expression. Sitting behind him was Arthur, who watched with wide eyes as ghostly mist trailed behind him.

"What are you planning?"The prince demanded, a lot more calmly than thirty minutes ago. Merlin narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing." He answered firmly, his tone discouraging further questions about the matter. "As I have told you before, I was simply here first and am physically unable to leave. Now, as you have probably already surmised, I'm a ghost. I died here, in this very room at the end of the Great Purge. And although I have no idea why, I was never able to leave for the after life. Instead, I woke up in this room around three years ago, after many years in limbo. Judging from my half transparent hands I had come to the conclusion that I was dead. But I when I tried to leave this room in an attempt to find out what happened, I found that I couldn't even see or hear anything outside, let alone get there. So, I ended up staying here. An occasional servant would sometimes come in here to make sure this room isn't growing mold. That's the only source of contact I've had from the outside world, and even then, none of the servants can see or hear me. And although it sometimes gets a bit lonely , it's been this way for three years now and I'm used to it. I'm _happy_ with this. So why..." He turned to face Arthur. "Why are you here? How can you even see me at the moment? Why am _I_ here? Why can't I even _die_ in peace?"

"How am I supposed to know?" The prince snapped, staring at the ground and avoiding eye contact. "I was just kid during the Great Purge. Besides, even if I _did_ know, I wouldn't help you. You're a ghost and a sorcerer to boot. How do you expect me to trust you?"

"I don't. But since I can't leave and I don't intend to be forcefully removed, I _do_ expect for you to either coexist with me or find a new room." The young prince glared at the floating boy.

"Fine." Arthur said relenting reluctantly. "I won't say a thing about you and by tomorrow, you can expect me to be gone. Just don't try to kill me. Is that enough for you?" Merlin blinked, not anticipating Arthur to agree with him so readily. Then, his expression became stony.

"Yes... Thank you." The prince nodded stiffly and stood up. "I'll be on my way now, _Ghost._ "

Spinning on his heels, he left the room, the doors closing behind him with a heavy boom.

The rest of his day continued on without anymore encounters with the living dead. Arthur almost even convinced himself that the events that morning were merely a result of a fear induced hallucination, although he avoided his room the entire time anyway.

Then, that night, he found himself walking down the corridors, intending to tell his father that his new room wasn't satisfactory and that he wanted to move back to his old one, when he passed the said room. Through the heavy doors, a ghostly, sad sound could be heard. Frowning, the prince, opened the door reluctantly to see what was going on.

What he saw was an empty looking room, save for a glowing translucent boy, not unlike himself, crying quietly. Merlin's sobs echoed throughout the silent room like thunder. Unsettled and feeling very awkward, Arthur quickly shut the door before he could be noticed.

 _And although it sometimes gets a bit lonely, it's been this way for three years now and I'm used to it._ Merlin's words came back to haunt him as he hurriedly continued down the hall.

 _Why am I here?_

Arthur's fists collided with the wall as he stamped to an abrupt stop. He winced at the impact of his punch and stared at his swelling hand.

 _Why should_ I _care about a ghost's feelings?_ He thought to himself angrily. _Why should_ I _care if he looks lonely? He's magic. Magic's evil._

He continued down the hall, fists clenched. _I'll be glad to be rid of him._

When the young prince returned to his room, Merlin was no where to be seen. With a frustrated sigh, he crashed onto his bed and closed his eyes. That night, he felt no chill and the room was dead still.

 _Stupid ghost..._ He thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"What are you still doing here?" Arthur jumped, looking up from his studies as a glowing figure appeared before him, arms crossed. It was late in the afternoon at the moment, and he still hadn't told his father anything.

"I changed my mind." The young prince huffed, glaring at the wall beside him. "I like the view here and my old room's too small."

"I told you that I can't leave." Merlin hissed, the light around him flaring to life and growing significantly brighter.

"Who said you had to?" The prince snapped, squinting as he struggled to see the ghost against the blinding light. "It's just that I'm a prince and the presence of a mere _ghost_ will not stop me from staying where I want to." The blue-white light dimmed at that.

"What do you mean by that?" Merlin said, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I _mean_ , that ghost or not, I'm not moving." Arthur said firmly. "So either _you_ find a way out of here, or you're going to have to get used to having a roommate."

The ghost scowled, floating down to stand directly before the prince and declared unblinkingly, "Prat."

Arthur smirked, deciding to take that as a sign of acceptance.

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! I finally finished something after months of writer's block! But now, I have way too many fanfics than I can handle... Oh well. I'm really excited to work on this fic and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! I do fear however, that this was rushed and that Arthur was OOC, so I'd really like it if you could give me some feedback through a review... Please? And I'd also like to know if you're enjoying this fic or not. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out within the next two weeks, although I make no promises. Until then, I, EndlessStars, bid you farewell!  
**


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